The Impact on Delhi’s Impoverished Communities
Preparations for the G20 leaders’ summit in Delhi have brought forth a stark divide in the city’s landscape, highlighting the contrasting realities faced by its residents. Saroaj Devi, a 50-year-old resident of a Delhi slum, was among those who first encountered the summit’s impact when tall green barricades sprang up around her neighborhood, effectively obscuring their modest dwellings from the view of visiting foreign dignitaries. While this extensive facelift has transformed Delhi’s appearance, it has also left its impoverished communities feeling marginalized and disheartened.
Devi, reflecting on the stark contrast, observed, “They have covered our area so that poor people like us, and poverty in the country, are not witnessed by the people arriving from abroad.” To welcome G20 delegates, the slums have been adorned with posters featuring the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, for Devi and others living in Coolie camp, the summit not only challenges their dignity but also poses a threat to their livelihoods.
In a bid to ensure security and clear roads for the summit, a sweeping shutdown has been enforced across Delhi. This three-day closure affects all schools, offices, workplaces, markets, restaurants, and non-food shops. While officials emphasize that it’s “not a lockdown,” the impact is acutely felt by the city’s poorer residents, many of whom live day to day and cannot afford to lose even a single day’s work. Devi, a cleaner earning Rs. 3000 a month, laments, “Poor people like us will only curse this event because we are going to suffer, and our bellies will be hungry.”
In Hafiz Nagar, residents have found themselves restricted from leaving by the police for days, leading to mounting frustration. Mohammad Imran, aged 45, expresses this frustration, stating, “We are being treated like insects, not humans.” Furthermore, over 4,000 homeless individuals, who previously lived on roads and under flyovers, have been relocated to shelters on the outskirts of Delhi. Civil society activist Harsh Mander has voiced concern over the attempt to either expel or erase the poor from the cityscape, underscoring the stark reality of extreme inequality in a nation that boasts the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Controversies Surrounding the G20 Summit: Contrasting Narratives
Amidst the accolades and honors of G20 showered upon India and Prime Minister Modi for hosting the G20 Summit in 2023, with nearly every news outlet celebrating it as a momentous occasion, The Times UK has, in a recent report, painted a contrasting view of the event in its very first paragraph.
The paragraph that sparked controversy reads: “Down a potholed rural road, miles from the freshly swept, newly plant-lined boulevards of Delhi, a single poster of Narendra Modi looms above the ruins of bulldozed shops and houses, proclaiming ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.”
Continuing, it states, “It is a far cry from the pageantry engulfing the capital as it prepares to host the G20, where pictures of Modi plaster every surface, unsightly slums are veiled with green curtains, and policemen guard the thousands of potted plants deployed to prettify world leaders’ journeys.”
The report not only ends here but also includes details of events in Nuh, located 50 miles away from Delhi. In the weeks leading up to the summit, deadly religious violence flared, exposing another side of Modi’s India that he would rather keep hidden. On July 31, Hindu nationalists led a religious march through the district they call “little Pakistan” for its Muslim population. They taunted its inhabitants, who responded with a shower of stones. Soon, the clashes descended into violent riots, resulting in the deaths of two policemen and three marchers.
The G20 Leaders’ Declaration, following the New Delhi Summit, has drawn criticism from civil society organizations for its inadequacy in addressing critical global issues. The declaration falls short in offering a clear roadmap to tackle the pressing concerns of economic inequality, the climate crisis, hunger, and energy issues, as highlighted by Peoples’ 20 in a statement on Monday, September 11. The G20 Summit itself was marred by controversy, with a “beautification drive” displacing slum residents, further emphasizing the complex social and economic challenges India faces as it seeks to project itself on the global stage.
